BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Insurance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, June 12, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will showcase winning and losing strategies for insurers and policyholders when litigating the duty to defend. The panel will discuss how each side assesses strategic issues that must be considered when deciding whether, how, and where to litigate the insurer's obligations to defend, to advance defense costs, or to reimburse the insured for amounts already incurred. The panel will offer examples from a variety of substantive practice areas and different types of policies and highlight the most important factors that lead to each particular outcome.

Description

Litigating the duty to defend is a high stakes proposition. If the policyholder succeeds, then it gains leverage to resolve the coverage dispute, as well as some financial relief. If the insurer wins, and a court finds no duty to defend, then quite often the insurer has no further or very limited obligations to the insured under the policy or policies. Although the stakes may be all or nothing, litigating the duty to defend may be an attractive and calculated proposition because the issue is usually (1) decided as a mater of law, (2) involves narrow issues of contract interpretation, (3) can be resolved on a limited record, and (4) can be done on a more limited budget.

The duty to defend is usually interpreted broadly. It is not unusual for insurers to urge broad interpretation of policy exclusions to negate the duty to defend. Policyholders, on the other hand, may be inclined to focus on language in the policy that describes what is covered based on how coverage provisions are worded. Both parties need to consider where the suit is or may be filed, the ability to appeal, related litigation, and other matters.

Listen as this experienced panel of coverage litigators discusses the strategic considerations that go into when, where, and how the duty to defend is litigated and what approaches seem to work and which seem not to work.

Outline

I. Scope of duty to defend

II. Insurer considerations

III. Policyholder considerations

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important issues:

  • Is there an advantage to being the plaintiff in duty to defend litigation?
  • What is the effect of later discovery of evidence that no duty to defend exists?
  • What happens when both insurer and insured file competing lawsuits?